Chamber and committees

Despite the caution that is required around the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, given the closed nature of prisons, we are aware of the reports that the member references. The SPS operations directorate is in the process of collating information to establish whether any further support may be required to maximise purposeful activity within each establishment, and we will seek to keep members informed.

I, too, am grateful to Alex Cole-Hamilton for providing the Parliament with an opportunity to debate such an important and wide-ranging topic. I am devastated that there are not more members here in the chamber to discuss it.

As members will appreciate, national security and data protection are reserved matters, so we are constrained in the laws that we can make on them. However, as the motion highlights, recent activities are timely reminders of the many continuing threats that we face. As has been mentioned, such developments are further signs of how the global threat picture is changing. Ensuring the security of Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom and of their data is a priority for the Scottish and UK Governments.

As members raised earlier, although such matters are reserved, their impacts can be felt across the devolved sectors in Scotland. Ministers take security matters extremely seriously, and the Scottish Government keeps all such policies under review. Members will also be aware that Police Scotland is currently inquiring into reports of an undeclared Chinese police station in Glasgow. It is upsetting to hear about people’s experiences that they have reported to parliamentarians. However, as the inquiry is an operational matter for Police Scotland, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further on it in the debate.

In addition, we expect our institutions and businesses to be fully aware of the risks of any international engagement, do proper due diligence and take steps to protect their assets and people. I hope that in my contribution I will be able to provide assurance on those matters.

I am going to come on to that issue in a moment.

As highlighted in today’s debate, the UK Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s recent report provides an insight into the extent and potential reach of the national intelligence law of the People’s Republic of China. In response, the UK Government announced that companies that are subject to that legislation should not be able to supply surveillance systems to sensitive UK Government sites.

I repeat the assurances that have been given through recent parliamentary answers to Alex Cole-Hamilton that the Scottish Government takes seriously the threats that this situation poses and is taking action within its powers to expose those issues. The Scottish Government is in the process of a multiyear improvement programme that commenced in 2018, and all existing CCTV kit and equipment is being replaced with a new integrated system, which will have data protection and security keenly at the forefront of our minds.

We are also aware that the CCTV systems in local authorities and Police Scotland include equipment that was supplied by Chinese-owned companies. The document “A National Strategy for Public Space CCTV in Scotland”, which was published in March 2011, is not quite up to date on the world that we live in today and the “digital asbestos” that is in front of us. We must look to improve on that in future, and I will keep the Parliament up to date on how we do that.

The Scottish Government continues to keep in close contact with the UK Government on developments in response to the Foreign Affairs Committee’s recent recommendations, and we will act accordingly, including consulting with Police Scotland and local authorities on what measures they might take in response to these steps.

Next week marks the start of cyber Scotland week, which is a series of events to make people and organisations more cyberaware and resilient. I encourage all members to consider attending events, to tell their constituents about the week, to visit the CyberScotland.com portal and to share it on their social media channels. That will give people a chance to pause and think about what apps they might have on their phones and computers. Both the National Cyber Security Centre and CyberScotland.com websites are useful sources of information, advice and guidance. The NCSC also has social media guidance that covers most major platforms, including advice on digital footprints and privacy settings.

Before I close, I want to comment on human rights and China. We have heard a lot about that today. The Scottish Government’s China policy supports the economic, cultural, educational and social relationships with the people of China in keeping with the values of Scotland. We cannot forget that the majority of people in China want to foster good relations around the world. That means working constructively on global priorities such as tackling climate change and biodiversity loss, as well as challenging China in areas of grave concern such as human rights.

I echo concerns that we have heard around the chamber. We have particular concerns regarding the situation in Xinjiang. There are other situations that we need to raise, such as that of people in China who are being persecuted for their religious beliefs. Perhaps we should also keep at the forefront of our minds the situation in Taiwan and in Hong Kong.

We are clear eyed about our international engagement, including with China. As I previously stated, we expect our institutions and businesses to understand and manage the reputational, ethical and security risks that are associated with their international partnerships.

The Scottish Government receives regular updates from the Scottish Prison Service on Covid-19 recovery within prisons. The only remaining restrictions are testing pathways and isolation for those who are symptomatic or who test positive, as set out in the SPS Covid-19 transition plan. In the event of an outbreak, further restrictions can be reinstated.

The Prison Service is prioritising restoration to fuller rehabilitative regimes while balancing the need to protect the health and wellbeing of those living, visiting and working in our prisons.

It is important that we always look to other countries around the world where such reviews have been carried out. Our educational institutions have close relationships with China, but we must bear in mind that a review of those should not be off the table.

Turning first to what happened in the United States, as Alex Cole-Hamilton will be aware, the US assessment points to a deliberate violation of its sovereign territory and airspace. We stand four-square behind the decisive action taken by the United States and are following the investigation into the incident closely.

The UK Government has indicated that it will conduct a security review to assess the dangers posed by the balloons, and we support its review to protect UK airspace from that type of intrusion. The review will be used to decide whether any changes need to be made to the surveillance of British airspace, and the Scottish Government stands ready to engage in the process when appropriate.

The Parliament will be aware of the efforts of the Chinese Central Government to strengthen its security legislation, as referred to in today’s motion. According to that legislation, everyone is responsible for state security, which is in line with China’s state security legal structure as a whole. The legislation includes articles that could compel businesses that are registered in China, including those that operate overseas or that have operations in China, to hand over information to Chinese intelligence agencies. That has data protection and data security implications in Scotland, as it does globally. Data protection is reserved. The UK Government will continue to monitor the threats to our data and it will not hesitate to take further action if it is necessary to protect our national security.

I absolutely agree with that. Any time that people spend in waiting to access justice will exacerbate their feelings of helplessness in the system. The money that the Scottish Government has put into that system, to aid it to recover, is absolutely vital. It is important that we keep an eye on that as things progress.

We are joined by countless others in our support for victims. Victim Support Scotland, Rape Crisis Scotland, the ASSIST—advocacy, support, safety, information and services together—project, Scottish Women’s Aid and countless others provide crucial assistance to people who are affected by crime. As a former Women’s Aid worker for more than a decade, and as someone who has previously been supported by Victim Support Scotland, I whole-heartedly commend those organisations for all that they do to support victims of crime, and all the leaders at the heart of them, such as Kate Wallace, Sandy Brindley, and Marsha Scott from Scottish Women’s Aid. I thank them for their dedication and compassion. From comments that have been made in the chamber this evening, I know that other members share my views of the vital need to raise awareness of what those organisations do.

The Government is pleased to support those bodies in that work, and, in turn, the people who are affected by crime. I am therefore delighted to be able to announce that we will award more than £500,000 to victim support organisations through the victim surcharge fund. Those funds will be used to provide direct support to victims and survivors. The new awards will bring to £900,000 the total that has been granted through the fund since it was established in 2019. Further information about that will be published tomorrow morning on the Scottish Government’s website.

That builds on our announcement in March last year, which was mentioned by Rona Mackay, that, from 2022 to 2025, we are awarding £48 million to more than 20 victims organisations through the victim-centred approach fund. Recipients include Victim Support Scotland, Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance and Migrant Help.

We also provide around £15.6 million each year to victims of violent crime through the criminal injuries compensation fund. In addition, we are investing £38 million over two years through the delivering equally safe fund, which tackles violence against women and girls—an issue that is close to the hearts of many people, including myself and Pauline McNeill, as we heard from her.

However, it is not just about money. As has been mentioned, our victims task force is driving action to improve the experiences of people who are affected by crime, within the criminal justice system. It is jointly chaired by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans and the Lord Advocate, and includes representatives from victim support organisations such as VSS, as well as criminal justice agencies, the legal profession and academia. The task force has welcomed the newly established victims advisory board, which is comprised of people who are directly affected by crime and will ensure that their voices are heard as part of the task force’s work and beyond. That is really important.

We have listened to people who are affected by crime and acknowledged that further work is absolutely necessary to ensure that their needs are better incorporated into Scotland’s justice system. That acknowledgement is reflected in the Scottish Government’s vision for justice, which envisages a system in which people who are affected by crime

“will be treated as a person first and foremost, our voices will be heard and be supported to recover from the trauma we have experienced.”

As Pam Gosal and Foysol Choudhury have said, we must ensure that we take an intersectional approach to domestic and sexual abuse cases and support organisations such as Amina, Hemat Gryffe Women’s Aid and Shakti Women’s Aid. We need to ensure that people from all backgrounds are heard in that space.

Yes—very briefly.

I absolutely recognise the case that Pam Gosal puts to me. The women’s justice leadership panel, which I currently chair and which will report soon, put that intersectionality approach right at the heart of what we were looking at. Through what we heard from groups such as Amina, we understood that we have to make adjustments within the system so that people feel that they are heard and that their needs are met. I absolutely recognise that.

The criminal justice reform (Scotland) bill, which is to be introduced this year, will support the delivery of vision for justice through provisions that will remove the not proven verdict and grant automatic anonymity to complainers in sexual offence cases, while working towards access to independent legal advice, which Pauline McNeill mentioned. We are also funding trauma specialists to develop a training framework for staff to create a more trauma-informed and trauma-responsive justice system. That is vital.

However, we are not stopping there. The Scottish Government is committed to preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls, and we are implementing equally safe, Scotland’s strategy for achieving that. We are working with justice partners to promote a system that encourages women’s active participation across the criminal justice system. That speaks to what Pam Gosal said.

As was mentioned by Rona Mackay, the introduction of our bairns’ hoose model will put children and young people’s needs front and centre.

I conclude by reaffirming the Government’s commitment to stand by people who are affected by crime, to uphold their rights and to embed their lived experience in a justice system that is trauma-informed and sensitive to their needs. That will include looking at how we can improve access to the ability to give victim impact statements, by moving forward with pilots to expand the scheme to include more types of offence. That is really important.

We will continue to work with victim support organisations as part of that. Again, I whole-heartedly commend the work of those organisations and I welcome the debate as an opportunity to shine a light on the crucial work that they do.

I congratulate Mr Findlay on securing the debate during Victim Support Scotland’s victims awareness week and I congratulate Victim Support Scotland on the success of the week so far. As members have noted, yesterday was European day for the victims of crime, which makes this debate even more apt. I associate myself with the words of Mr Findlay when he congratulated those who are recognised today by Victim Support Scotland’s excellence awards.

I am pleased to be closing the debate for the Scottish Government. We support Mr Findlay’s motion whole-heartedly. Reflecting on the people who are at the heart of victims awareness week, I will begin with a few words for those who have been affected by crime as all too clearly set out by Mr Kerr.

Victim” and “survivor” are short words, but they carry a weight of meaning for those to whom they are attached. It is easy to feel far removed from the possibility of being affected by crime. However, the victim of crime can be anyone, as we have heard: a friend, a parent, a carer, a sibling, a child, a colleague or even oneself. Many colleagues have their own direct experiences, as we have heard. In other words, there is no “them”, only “us”.

With that in mind, I say to all people who are affected by crime: the Government is with you. We are committed to upholding your rights and to making sure that the justice system recognises your experiences as well as the impact that crime can have on you. More simply: we see you, we hear you and we believe you.

It is important that we set out that victims of crime need to be at the centre of a justice system. Russell Findlay recognised the movement in that direction not just here but across the UK and across the world.

Like Annabelle Ewing, I very much welcome the fact that progress has been made through established collective bargaining arrangements and that strike action has been averted. I emphasise that the Scottish Government is not part of any negotiations on firefighter pay, which is rightly a matter for the SFRS, as the employer, but I am sure that the SFRS, along with the other fire and rescue employers and the FBU, will look carefully at the process to ensure that lessons are learned for the future.